


Mea Tulpa

by AStrangeFate



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Dead Cora Hale, Dead Laura Hale, Dead Peter Hale, M/M, Mild Consent Issues, Sheriff Stilinski is Not Stiles Stilinski's Parent, The Astral Plane, Tulpa Stiles Stilinski, Tulpas, WIP, Work In Progress
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-05
Updated: 2020-07-05
Packaged: 2021-03-02 21:34:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,477
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24013657
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AStrangeFate/pseuds/AStrangeFate
Summary: Tomorrow he wouldn’t even have the ghost of his family home left to keep him company and, while he knew he couldn’t leave the structure standing as some kind of macabre shrine, the thought left him feeling more isolated than ever.Unbeknownst to Derek however, he was being watched, not by someone in the forest, not even by someone beyond the forest's edge, but by something far beyond the reaches of his conscious mind.OrAfter Laura dies Derek, the last surviving member of the Hale family, decides to return home to Beacon Hills and repair his family home. However, in his loneliness, he subconsciously creates a Tulpa, a strange astral, or fae creature born from his own imagination, in the form of a beautiful man. Stiles...
Relationships: Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski
Comments: 3
Kudos: 30





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! Is this the best title of a fic that I have ever created? Yes, it is. Am I ashamed of the double pun? No, I am not. This is a work in progress which I don't like doing, but I was super inspired to write this so I had to at least start right? Comments are always appreciated and all spelling errors are due to the fact that I wrote this after a nap. Enjoy!

Derek tried to talk himself into making the phone call as he drove through Iowa and through most of Nebraska as well, but his hand wouldn’t dial the number. He knew he still had time, as long as he called before he reached Nevada the demolition company would still have enough time to pull down the old house before he arrived. He knew deep down that he wouldn’t do it though. No matter how many times he told himself that there was nothing in the old ruin that mattered to him, he still felt a deep pull to say goodbye to the dilapidated structure one last time before it was leveled. If not for himself than for Laura, who never got the chance. 

Thinking of Laura, even for a moment, made his chest tighten and his newly Alpha red eyes flash. His guilt, grief, and loneliness fought over his conscious mind making him feel out of control, but he refused to stop driving. If he paused his forward motion, even for a moment longer than it took him to fill up his gas tank, the darkness at the back of his mind would swallow him up. 

Perhaps picking up and driving clear across the country wasn't the most healthy way to cope with his sister's death, but after he lost her he realized he was truly alone in the world for the first time. He thought over what he wanted to do now that he had nothing tethering him to any one place and he found that the only thing he wanted to do was go home.

Laura had always said there was nothing for them in Beacon Hills. There was a part of her that toyed with the idea of going back when their Uncle Peter was still alive, but he succumbed to his injuries a few years after the fire. It was probably for the best. Even if Peter did come out of his coma, he would likely be scarred both physically and emotionally for the rest of his life. Still, Derek couldn't help but wish he had some living family somewhere. He wished he still had Laura…

She was always braver than him, she would be able to make him feel less unsure, though ultimately it was her bravery that killed her. He should have talked her out of going after Kate, but Laura’s anger and strong desire for justice drove her and there was no competing with those strong emotions. While Laura had succeeded at her goal, ripping Kate’s esophagus from her neck, she had been hit with enough wolfsbane to put down an entire pack of Alphas, let alone one. 

That was two weeks ago. The second the police ruled him out as a suspect and shifted their focus to the rest of Kate's arms dealer cronies he packed up what little he could fit in his Camaro and hit the road, making arrangements in Beacon Hills as he drove. 

It had been 39 hours of hard-driving by the time he passed the “Welcome to Beacon Hills” sign. He wasn't sure what he expected to feel, being back after 12 years. Relief? Pain? Comfort? Instead, he just felt exhausted. Perhaps he should have stopped, but he likely never would have made it back if he did, he would likely still be holed up in some Comfort Inn in Colorado, too terrified to continue without the adrenaline to push him forward. 

He drove straight on, to the preserve, not bothering to find other accommodations as he had prepared some camping gear and was anticipating sleeping rough for a while as he built a new home from the ashes of the once grand Hale house. 

It wasn't until he turned onto the dirt road at the edge of the Hale property that led to the house that Derek began to feel waves of conflicting emotions. First, there was intense nostalgia for his childhood home, then shame for what he had let happen to it, then finally grief for his family, none of whom he would ever see again. 

When he finally reached the front of the old house he sat and stared at the remains. He hadn’t seen the house in its current state, the last time he stood in front of it the entire thing was engulfed in flames, and he was screaming out for his family as an officer held him back. 

He wanted to get out and walk around but instead, he continued to stare as his eyes got heavier, and eventually, he ended his two-day drive by finally slipping off to sleep just feet from his destination. 

Derek woke with a start as his phone rang out an irritating tune. He absently checked the time and realized that it was nearing 2 pm and that he had slept for 14 straight hours. Looking at the time also made him realize that the demolition company was likely calling him, irritated that he didn't get back to them that morning like he had told them he would. He answered the call and apologized to the contractor gruffly, too freshly awake to be polite. The company informed him that they would have to start the next day, as it was too late to start demolition so late in the afternoon. 

Derek was secretly pleased with this revelation as it gave him some time to collect himself enough to be seen by people again, and it gave him some time to wander around his family's home without feeling rushed. 

While there was still some trepidation, Derek could no longer ignore his need to stretch and relieve himself, so he finally exited his car and stepped foot on his family's land for the first time in over a decade. 

The rush of power he felt was immediate. Despite the fact that he had no pack, he was still the alpha of these lands, and therefore the forest around him reacted to him, bolstering his weak and weary body. It gave confidence and he felt supernaturally calm as he began walking into the burned-out shell of the house. 

When he opened the front door he half expected the inside to look completely normal, which is why it was so jarring to see the charred remains of his family’s furnishings. He slowly crept through the large home, spending time relishing in the memories that flooded over him in each room. The kitchen where he would do his homework, the dining room where his mother would hold court over a large meal, the living room where he would fight with his sisters over the good chair. 

His stomach turned as he entered the first room on the second floor. His baby sister Cora’s room. She was just 10 when the fire occurred. She had her whole life ahead of her. He remembers the small child-sized coffin they lowered into the ground next to his parents. He remembers the horror that the rest of the funeral attendees felt seeing the evidence of a dead child. He remembers wishing he was in a coffin next to her, not deserving his survival.

Next, he went into his parent's room. Their bed was still somewhat holding its original shape and he felt a strong desire to sit on the edge of it, like he would do almost every night when they were alive, debriefing them about his day. He wished he had the courage back then to tell them everything, if he had, they might still be alive. 

He skips Laura’s room, the memories of clearing out her bedroom in New York still too fresh, and goes straight to what was his teenage bedroom. He doesn't bother going through any of the charred remains of his belongings and instead focuses on the bed. Looking back he's horrified at the things he did on that bed. With her. Kate. He was only 15 and she took advantage of him, used him to kill his family for sport. How could he have been so stupid, he wishes his parents were alive to scold him, scream at him, hate him even, but they died never knowing what he was responsible for. What he had done. 

The memories of her hands on him made him flee the house back to his car. Sparing one last mournful, farewell look at the structure before driving off. 

There were a few dirt roads that led deeper into the preserve that his car could, hopefully, manage despite the lack of upkeep. He decided to camp in one of the clearings near a stream where his family used to swim in order to clean himself off. It was likely he wouldn’t have access to a shower for a while as he had decided early on that he would only venture into town when he absolutely needed, so he took advantage of one of the cleaner water sources he had access to. 

He spent the rest of the remaining daylight hours setting up his campsite. Keeping himself busy to fight off the emotional weight of the day thus far. It was earlier summer in Northern California so the weather was plenty warm enough at night for him to sleep under the stars without worrying about the element getting to him.

It wasn’t until he decided to finally clean himself off that the toll of what he had experienced that day hit him. As he let the water roll over him, so did the intense loneliness he felt. Tomorrow he wouldn’t even have the ghost of his family home left to keep him company and, while he knew he couldn’t leave the structure standing as some kind of macabre shrine, the thought left him feeling more isolated than ever. 

Just as he began to consider getting out of the water, his alpha senses alerted him to a deep sense of being watched and suddenly he was on high alert. He knew he was vulnerable in his current position, naked in the water, but he was an alpha on his ancestral lands, he could win a fight in naught but his skin if he needed to. 

However as he prepared himself for a fight, letting his claws and fangs extend, his senses reached out to scan the surrounding forest and… nothing.

Only a few busy animals, some curious at the newcomer, but none that were a threat to him. 

He tried to focus more and listen harder for any suspicious telltale breathing or shifting of a body, but there wasn't a sound. Not even a foreign heartbeat that he could identify. 

He considered for a second that the creature could be incorporeal such as a ghost, but even spirits left behind signs of their presence such as the smell of ozone and a crackling sound that those without enhanced senses couldn't hear. 

He quickly exited the water and changed into clean clothes before once again tried to detect a threat lingering somewhere in the woods, but after an hour or so of surveying, he had to admit that perhaps he was being paranoid. Still, he couldn’t help but feel like there was something still watching him. 

He chalked it up to his own turbulent history with the town making him obsessively anxious and tried to settle down for the night. It was difficult to do with all of his senses still on high alert, but eventually, he managed to be carried away by sleep. 

Unbeknownst to Derek however, he was being watched, not by someone in the forest, not even by someone beyond the forest's edge, but by something far beyond the reaches of his conscious mind. Derek wouldn’t know it yet but there were actions being set into motion outside his realm of understanding that would change his life forever. But for that evening, the ancient creatures examining him were comfortable waiting. Instead, focusing on exploring his mind and finding what they needed. What they found led them to create two distinct and ethereal whiskey coloured eyes… 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The strange presence Derek had been sensing starts to try and get his attention.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again! Please enjoy and comment if you do. Also, I know this was two chapters out relatively quickly but I don't know if I can keep up this momentum so bare with me if the waits get longer and longer.

Derek stayed away for most of the day while the demolition company tore down the house. It took longer than he expected, but that gave him ample opportunity to drive into town and get all the equipment he needed, as well as talk to his subcontractors. He wanted to do most of the work himself, but he needed to at least leave plumbing and electrical to professionals, as he was more likely to get himself killed if he tried to wire the place himself. 

It was strange driving through Beacon Hills and seeing all the things that had changed. And all the things that hadn’t changed. There were a few new businesses on the main street and the bank had shut down, but the buildings were still the same and the community staples, like the high school and the police station, looked the same as the day he left. 

Unfortunately for him, many of the people were the same as well. He saw the stares he got as he drove down the street and as he got out of his car when at the hardware store. It was partially his own fault for driving such a conspicuous vehicle, but he had allowed himself to keep the Camaro as one indulgence from his life with his sister in New York and he wasn't about to give it up. Some of the younger crowd, who were too little to remember when the fire occurred, looked at him with confusion and wonderment. They likely weren't used to seeing newcomers to their community even if he wasn't technically a newcomer. Some of the teenage girls give him flirty glances, but he’s sure they would stop that once they found out his full story.

He didn’t mind the looks from them so much, it was the looks of those in the know, those who remembered him, that he hated. Some looked at him with shock, others looked at him with pity. His presence in town would no doubt circulate among the gossip mongers quickly and soon he will likely be inundated with questions from the more brave members of the community. That's why he was planning to only make one trip into town for supplies, avoiding the place entirely unless he was desperate. 

He was lucky enough to have the hardware store all to himself as he made his order and rented the equipment he would need. Derek vaguely remembered the gentleman behind the counter, but the older man was polite enough to keep the conversation based around the project and not indicate whether or not he was aware of the tragedy of his family, for which Derek was thankful. 

They arranged for the supplies to be delivered in two days' time, which was the same time the utilities were getting installed. Better to get all of his outside interactions done with at the same time. It would give him a little extra time to tape out his layout as well. 

Once he was finished at the hardware store he took a quick detour to the grocery store to pick up some essentials and foodstuffs to keep him going for a few weeks at least. He couldn’t help but recoil at the PTA moms blatantly whispering about him when they thought he couldn’t hear. They were so obvious he almost thought human ears would be able to pick up on their chatter, let alone his superior werewolf ears. He got the heck out of there as fast as he could, lest one of the more sexually aggressive middle-aged women try to speak to him. He was in no way emotionally or physically prepared to fight off such an onslaught. 

Derek drove back to the preserve, and for a moment considered driving straight back to his campsite, but he listened for any signs of machinery and when he heard nothing he realized that the demolition crew must be finished. He needed to bite the bullet and go see the result. 

He drove up to the cement slab that used to be his home and his heart twinged. Not even the bones of the house could be spared. He's glad that the crew had taken their dumpsters with them when they left, he likely wouldn’t have been able to handle seeing his family's charred belongings tossed aside as garbage. The only thing left other than the foundation was some brick and stone that they have salvaged and put in a pile for him to potentially use in his construction. 

He went to the centre of what used to be the structure and sat down with his hands on his knees. He surmised that he was sitting in what used to be the dining room. There was no turning back now, it was gone. 

For the first time since Laura’s death, Derek cried. 

###

The next day Derek got to work. 

He made a list of things he had to get done and wrote it on a napkin he found in his car. The first part of construction was relatively simple. He needed to measure and tape out his layout so the plumber and electrician could install the pipes and wiring in the correct areas. They had both guaranteed him that it would be an easier job than it sounded as most of the pipes were still connected to the well and septic which survived the fire. The power line was a little worse for wear but they were only burnt out a few feet underground so they could easily be fished out and replaced. 

If he played his cards right he would only need the electrician back a few times before he was finished and he wouldn't need the plumber back at all. 

As he began, the first strange thing he noticed was the smell. 

When Derek went to set down his spray paint and measuring tape on the foundation while he got his sketch out, suddenly there was the distinct smell of warm vanilla and… ripe blackberries? 

While he didn't remember blackberries growing near the house, it's possible in the years since he had been there that some had migrated into the area, but California didn’t have a hot enough temperature year-round for vanilla to grow. 

There was also another strange smell hidden underneath. It was unidentifiable, but familiar all the same. A smell that he would associate with the strange individuals that his mother would occasionally have business with. Ancient magical people from all over the world, they often caused him to feel frightened but thrilled at the same time. 

The smell unnerved him slightly, and so he paused momentarily to find the source of the smell. It seemed to have no definitive source, however, he noticed the further he moved away from the foundation the fainter the smell became and that it was strongest when he stood at the centre of the slab. 

He decided that it must be some sort of leftover magical item or rune that his mother had kept in the home that seeped through to the foundation and went back to his busywork. 

The smell stopped concerning him after a while and became a pleasant background aroma. 

He had managed to tape off the shape of the exterior structure on the old foundation before he paused again. He decided not to use the entirety of the foundation for the new structure as it was far too big for just himself. Part of him wanted to believe that one day he would have a mate or even a pack of his own, but he pushed those thoughts down as far as he could. Better not to entertain such delusions. He decided to use the remaining edge of the foundation to create a wrap-around porch on three sides of the new little bungalow home he had imagined for himself. It was a small design, only about 850 square feet, but he was proud of it. 

He was just measuring the rest of the interior walls when the tapping started. At first, he was so focused on his task that he almost missed it, an embarrassing admission for an alpha werewolf. 

It was quiet, and only a few feet to his left. A gentle one, two, three taping. 

Derek furrowed his eyebrows at the noise and tried to listen for it again, but it never came. He figured it must have been a pipe expanding in the heat and refocused on his task. 

Not five minutes later did the tapping occur again, but this time it was two feet to his right. The same gentle one, two, three. 

This time it really got Derek's attention. He paused again listening for the source but no more noise came, this time Derek didn’t go back to what he was doing, instead, he got up from his position on the ground and walked over to the area where the noise came from. Just as he reached the area where the sound had occurred he heard it again. This time from the place that he was once sitting. 

He turned on his heel at the sound and stared curiously, this time instead of waiting the tapping came back almost immediately, sounding out from right underneath where his supplies rested. Despite the gentleness of the sound, the thumping was strong enough to make his tape measure jump with every tap.

That really got Derek's attention. The pipes wouldn't tap so aggressively, would they? But he couldn't hear any scurrying under the foundation or a heartbeat that would signify an animal. 

As Derek contemplated what could be the cause, whatever it was tapped again, but this time directly under his shoe. 

He jumped at the feeling, quickly backing up off of the foundation. 

The tapping couldn't have been the pipes as it felt almost as if a finger had tapped three times directly on the sole of his foot. 

The tapping didn't stop when he got off the foundation either. Every few seconds, always in different places, going from one side to another so fast it couldn’t have been an animal, seemingly getting louder, until it was all Derek could hear. The smell, that previously was a pleasant backdrop to his work, also became more and more pungent. 

Derek began to feel panicked and, unsure of any other solution, he retrieved a shovel from his trunk and struck the concrete where the tapping occurred the first time as it continued its frenzied dance around him. However, the second the shovel hit the concrete everything suddenly stopped. 

Hoping it would run whatever it was off, Derek continued to strike at the concrete with his wolf strength, shattering the small section of foundation into dust, nearly breaking his shovel. He didn't stop until the bent edge of his shovel hit the dirt and his shirt was soaked through with sweat. 

When he finally broke through to the other side he kneeled down to examine the hole he had made. 

What he discovered unnerved him. There was no gap between the ground and the foundation that a creature could fit into, supernatural or not, and there were no cracks, holes, or pipes to speak of running through the concrete. There was nothing there that could have been the source of the tapping, and no method for whatever was causing it to move through to different parts of the slab. 

“What the fuck?”

Instead of spending more time investigating Derek decided to quickly finish marking the layout and head back to the campsite for the day. He would deal with the hole in the morning/

The second he turned off his car he made a beeline for the stream hoping the day's strange events would wash off of him like the sweat that had accumulated on his skin. Maybe by some miracle the plumber or electrician would be able to explain the strange occurrence to him.

Still slightly unnerved, Derek fell asleep that night with some difficulty, but with high hopes for the next day. 

Unfortunately for him, the mysterious tapper was only just getting started… 


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Derek is once again haunted by a strange entity, but this time it manifests physically.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry for all the unnecessary construction bits, but I'm currently building a mother in law on my property and something needs to come from all this stuff I'm learning. 
> 
> Also sorry about the tense issues, I had trouble keeping it together in this chapter for some reason.
> 
> Ta!

Derek slept hard that night after expelling so much energy chasing shadows. It was the first time he slept through the entire night in weeks. Unfortunately, it did not leave him feeling well-rested. It wouldn't do him any good to sleep in, however, as the longer it took him to get the house up the longer he would be sleeping on the ground. He didn’t mind sleeping on the earth, it made his wolf side calmer, but his human side desired something a little more comfortable. 

He arrived at the building site before anyone else. He took a moment to look at the mess he had made. He listened to see if he could hear the tapping again, but all was silent. He hoped that the plumber would have an answer for him and he wouldn’t be told that he was totally crazy.

His supplies were the first thing to arrive so he got started on the frame right away after the machinery was unloaded and his supplies were set up. He couldn't put down the sill plate until all the utilities were finished for that day, but he could at least get the frame made and set to the side so that all he had to do when they were finished was put down the plate and bolt in parts of the frame that made up the exterior walls. Building the frame would be easy as the structure would only be a simple 32ft by 26ft rectangle. He hoped to have finished each side by the end of the day and have it up by the end of the next day. 

He was just finishing up screwing in the diagonal bracing straps on the first wall when the plumber and electrician rolled in together. 

The plumber, Boyd if Derek remembered correctly, gave an impressed whistle when he walked up to where Derek was working. 

“You got an early start, looks like you're almost done there.”

“Just about,” Derek replied as he stood up to greet the men. 

“Do you mind pausing for a second? I was hoping you could show me your design again and tell me what you wanted where. I’m sure the electrician will want you for a chat as well.” Boyd asked, while subtly looking over Derek's handiwork. 

Derek was bolstered slightly when it was clear that Boyd was impressed at the construction work he had gotten done already. Despite being an alpha now, Derek missed receiving the praise and he got from his mother and sister when he was a beta. It was nice to know his work was approved of. 

The three men looked over Derek’s sketches together and cobbled together a plan for the day. Boyd’s job was relatively easy since the integrity of the existing plumbing was still good. He would install a new pump, softener and water heater as well as create a few lines to the areas of the house Derek would need water to get to, it would be an expensive, but relatively quick job. The electrician was where there would be more issues. He needed to dig up the underground line and replace the fried wiring. Then when Derek was finished with the framing he would need to come back and install the fuse box and put in the outlets. He would likely need a few days at least to get power to the house, but not as much time as if they were building from scratch. 

Once they were ready to get started on their work for the day, Derek took a second to pull Boyd aside to ask about the tapping. 

“I was wondering about that hole, but I figured that was done by the demolition crew by accident. The noise must have been really pissing you off to do that huh?” Boyd observed causing Derek's ears to pink with mild embarrassment. 

“I was concerned about the project,” Derek replied trying to make himself seem less crazy. Now that it was a new day, his previous actions did seem a bit intense. 

“Of course, well I’m not sure what it could have been, but it wasn’t the piping. There are no gaps in this part of the foundation at all. The tapping could have been subterranean, but I doubt you would have been able to hear it if it was.”

The answer sated Derek's curiosity somewhat. If it had been something deep underground making the tapping noise he would have been able to hear it with his wolf ears, but still, that didn’t explain the fact that he could feel the tapping on his foot, and the speed at which it moved around. Surely something subterranean that could cause enough force for him to feel it would have been louder, or have caused there to be more of a mass shaking rather than a few small taps. 

He decided to just forget it and be satisfied with the answer Boyd gave him. He didn’t want to dwell on the things he couldn’t understand. He knew that the land he was standing on was old and saturated with magic and that it was better to accept that he might never know and move on, rather than go mad. There was still something deep inside of him that demanded answers, but he tried to repress that side of him as much as he could.

Boyd was the first to finish about three-quarters of the way through the day, but he stuck around to help Derek make some of the framing. Derek hated to admit it but he liked having another person around to help him and by the time the electrician was also finished and the two men left, all four external walls were built, as well as some of the pyramid hip roof, and just needed to be installed. The two had made easy conversation that didn’t feel forced and Boyd was a steady and calm man who was comfortable enough to work in silence when Derek didn’t feel like talking. 

But Derek was alone once again with his work, and Boyd wouldn’t be back until it was time to install his fixtures which wouldn't be for weeks or even months. Derek told himself it was for the best. It was complicated to make human friends as a wolf. They would never be able to understand him like another wolf would and it was too dangerous to be around him if they couldn’t defend themselves. Plus his wolf side would always crave a pack, and he wasn't ready to take on being an alpha, let alone with human packmates. 

But he was getting ahead of himself. 

Derek worked into the night. Despite the dark, Derek told himself he would at least finish putting the sill plate down before he went back to his camp. He felt like he was behind, despite working at a wolf's pace. 

He had started to feel exhausted by the time he was almost finished. He had only half an hour or so left of work when the smell returned. 

Blackberries, vanilla, and magic. 

Derek got up onto his feet so fast his head rushed. He wasn't going to be caught off guard this time. 

His eyes scanned the foundation waiting for the tapping to start up again. It would be easier this time to spot the tapping if it began as the floor was covered in bolts and washers and they would jump at the slightest movement. 

He was concentrating so hard on the ground he was not prepared for the gust that whipped past his ear. 

_ “Derek.” _

He was struck cold deep in his stomach. He spun around and wolfed out instinctively, taking a swipe at whatever had made the noise. However, there was nothing there. 

The sound was just a whisper, but he swore it said his name. He  _ swore  _ it. It couldn't have been the wind, could it?

No, the forest around him was completely still, there was no wind. 

Derek began to get worked up again, the same as he was the previous day. He began to think he was going insane. Boyd and the electrician hadn’t encountered anything, it was just him. Maybe he was going crazy. Or maybe he was being targeted. 

He was tired, maybe it was a trick his mind was playing on him due to his exhaustion. 

As he contemplated his sanity, a streak of red flashed in his peripheral vision near the treeline. He whipped around to see it, only for the red to flash by on his other side. Determined to prove to himself he wasn't imagining things he decided to give chase. 

He leapt in the vague direction the colour seemed to be moving in and ran. His vision tried to catch sight of anything, hoping he was heading in the right direction. He caught sight of the colour again to his left and he changed his course, trees, and foliage whipping past him in the dark. 

They continued this dance for several minutes, hours? Derek chasing in one direction only for the whisp to flash again and make him turn suddenly. 

He slowly lost stamina, as he was already exhausted when the chase began, but whatever he was chasing seemed to slow down just enough for him to catch up, only to speed up again just as he was about to reach it, almost as if it was playing with him. 

They had been staying mostly to the thicker parts of the woods. Derek hadn’t been keeping track of where they were headed, but from the turns he had been making it seemed that it was leading him in a random pattern, seemingly headed nowhere in particular. However, as he got slower, he noticed that the shape began leading him somewhere with more purpose. He tried to analyze his position carefully, lest he be lead into some sort of trap, but he was very turned around. 

The trees around him began to thin and he noticed he was on a trail, just as he was starting to calculate his position as he ran along the path, he suddenly broke the treeline. 

He was… at his campsite? 

The figure had led him back to his campsite. 

He slowed to a stop, looking around for the flash of colour again. He was covered in sweat from his run and felt close to collapse. 

He knew he couldn’t continue to give chance even if whatever it was did appear again. 

He didn't feel very very secure bedding down there, but he needed to rest and it was too late to move his things to another location, whatever it was seemed to follow him anyways, so he doubted it mattered. He had left his Camaro back at the house so he couldn't even retreat to his car and lock the door for an added layer of protection. 

He decided to take the risk and collapsed on the matted down grass where he had been sleeping, he had left a few essentials there, but most of his things were in the car, so all he had for comfort was a jacket to rest his head-on. 

He didn't dare clean himself off in the river not only due to the potential threat but also due to his tiredness, he was likely to drift off in the water and sink to the bottom never to be seen again. 

He wished his sister was there with him. She was so much stronger than him. She wouldn't have stopped. She probably wouldn't have started the stupid chase either, she was too smart to be led into the woods by some random magical… thing. He's sure she's somewhere watching him, smacking herself in the forehead because of how dense he was being, the answer to all of their problems came so naturally to her. 

He didn't have much time to dwell on his inferiority as he was quickly dragged to sleep by his fatigue. 

He continued to scan the treeline until he couldn’t physically keep his eyes open, and he swore that, just before he finally succumbed to his need for rest, he saw a man standing at the treeline staring at him with a mischievous smile and beautiful amber eyes. 


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, look! Dialogue! 
> 
> Anyway, please enjoy. Kudos and comments are immensely appreciated.

Derek packed up his campsite after that night and began to sleep in his car at the building site. He found it more comforting after being harrowed by the events that had been occurring. 

He was lucky enough to get several peaceful days where he was able to get much done at the house. Both the exterior and interior framing was complete. He has been able to put down the subfloor. All of the electrical had been installed and he had finished business with the electrician. He had even managed to get the roof partially-built. 

Despite staying busy he was not able to forget the strange occurrences and was still slightly on edge, but ultimately he decided to keep busy and try and push the strange being that was haunting him to the back of his mind. 

It had been a week and a half since the late-night chase and Derek was ready to have a productive day. He was going to get the exterior walls up. If he managed to finish by the end of the day he was going to sleep inside his new home for the first time. None of the walls would be insulated and the roof still wouldn't be completed, but the idea of sleeping with four walls around him and being able to stretch out fully rather than curl up in his tiny vehicle was too appealing. 

If he wasn't a wolf he wouldn't be able to do it on his own, the large inch thick slabs of wood were far too heavy for a normal man to lift on their own, let alone holding one up with one hand and nailing them in with the nail gun with the other. 

It took him most of the day to finish and when he was he stepped back and analyzed his work. It was beginning to come together. It still looked like a construction site, but he could see his vision coming together. The next day he would hopefully be able to finish the roof giving him total protection from the elements, not that he really needed it. Once the roof was done he could insulate and put up the drywall and really began to put the details on his new home. 

As the sun set, Derek began to get his sleeping supplies out of his car. He had given in and made a trip to town in order to get some more supplies and while he was there he invested in some more comfortable gear. He figured there was no shame in investing in the pillow when hopefully he would be buying a bed soon anyway. The woman at the home goods store was far too friendly, making far too many comments about what he needed in his bed. He made a mental note to do the rest of his furniture shopping online. 

As he moved his stuff inside he noted how good it felt to walk through his home and imagine what it would look like when it was done. Despite the fact that there were no doors or insulation in the walls, he loved walking through the layout of his home and getting a feel for the flow of it. He couldn't help but feel excited to sleep in what would be his bedroom eventually for the first time. 

Despite the woman at the furniture store making him uncomfortable, he couldn’t help but imagine having someone to share his new bedroom with. He stared up at the stars through the beams of the roof and pictured a skylight there and someone next to him pointing out the constellations. He drifted off that night dreaming of the stars, counting them and reaching out to touch them as if they were only inches away from his face. 

### 

Derek didn't wake up as peacefully as he fell asleep, however. 

He was wrenched violently from slumber by hand on his chest. 

His wolf instincts immediately kicked in and he lunged his clawed hand at the intruder, he made contact with nothing. His eyes were still adjusting, but he could see the figure standing there.

With his wolf eyes, he should have been able to see the figure clearly, however, there was almost a fuzzy film over them causing him to only get a vague idea of what the person, or thing, looked like. If Derek didn't know better he would have assumed the figure jumped straight out of his head, as he could see spots all over the creature's skin that resembled the constellations he was tracing over and over during his dreams. He could see amber eyes, but nothing other than that on his face, could tell it was a boy, but he wasn't sure why he knew that as there was nothing he could see that would identify gender. 

He heard the giggle again, the one he heard the night he gave the figure chase through the woods. The rage Derek felt at the intrusion outweighed the more logical part of his brain pointing out that the figure had made no moves to harm him and he lunged. Once again Derek made no contact and before his eyes, the figure disappeared into thin air after seemingly giving him a cheeky grin. Again, Derek wasn't sure how he knew that when he couldn't see the figure clearly.

His heart was beating out of his chest. He felt a combination of fear and wonderment at the mysterious magic that the figure had. Once he came down Derek was able to recognize his recklessness. It wasn't clear to him the nature of the being. It could have been benevolent or something different, a random magical spirit could be dangerous if it has powerful allies. Derek sighed and sat back down on his makeshift bed and cradled his head in his hands. He hoped it wouldn't have to come to this, but such a powerful being seemingly hyper-focus on him was going to require more powerful help. He crawled back up into the blanket and made the decision. 

Tomorrow he would go see Deaton. 

###

Derek hated the idea of seeing the man so much that he almost swore off the whole idea, but the fear deep in his gut that the figure would return drove him forward. 

He didn't even know if Deaton still lived in Beacon Hills let alone still owned the vet clinic. He was willing to take the chance if it meant he got some answers. As he drove into town he took the time to scan each of the faces of the people on the street to see if he could spot the person who might be stalking him. It was possible, he realized, that it could be a magical person like a witch or a druid, that was harassing him, and if that was the case they likely lived in town. However, he recognized no one as the person he saw the previous night. While the figure was difficult for him to see, there was still something distinct about the figure and he knew he would know right away if he saw them again. 

The vet’s office was right where he remembered it to be. He had been there a handful of times with his mother to speak to the man inside. Deaton was no ordinary small-town veterinarian. He was there to help the pack and advise his mother when she was alive. His mother respected the man, but Derek found him unnecessarily cryptic and strange, a quirk of his profession as the Hale pack emissary. 

He sat in his car for several moments waiting to go in. He wasn't entirely sure of the protocol. The Hale pack no longer existed, was Deaton still considered the emissary? Derek was technically the Hale Alpha after his mother and Laura, was there some sort of formality he needed to take in order to speak to Deaton? As he pondered his approach, a vaguely annoyed-looking red-headed woman stepped out of the main door and shot him with a questioning look as if to say “well are you going to come in?” He didn't have an animal with him so he wasn't sure how she knew he was waiting to go into the vet's office. There were other buildings in the vicinity, but he wasn't going to question it seeing as the building was dripping with magical energy. 

He organized himself and straightened his jacket before exiting his car, making his way over to the clinic.

The unimpressed looking redhead was there to greet him. She had made her way back behind the reception desk. 

Derek looked for something to say, hello even would have been good, but he was still trying to get his bearings. But before he managed to gather an appropriate greeting the redhead snapped him out of it.

"You're one of the Hales then?" 

The question immediately put Derek on edge. While he was sure the girl had some connections to Deaton's more esoteric work, he didn’t like her immediate knowledge of his identity. 

"Who are you?" he responded somewhat tersely, he wasn't willing to immediately reveal himself to the stranger. 

The girl rolled her eyes, seemingly unwilling to deal with his curtness. 

"Deaton's just with one of his four-legged clients, he'll be with you in a moment. Go back to his office, he won't want to speak to you about... whatever your business is up here," she responded, going back to her mathematical textbook. 

Derek eyed her as he walked past, headed towards Deaton's office. His nose wrinkled at her scent. The smell of magic and death, a Banshee then he surmised. Dangerous and strange creatures, he made a mental note to ask Deaton for her name for future reference.

The veterinary areas of the clinic had been somewhat upgraded since he had last been there as a child, Deaton's office, however, still looked the same. Old books covered with years of dust covered the shelves and strange Baubles and jars filled with shimmering liquid sat upon the window sill. There was a large oak desk covered in papers with writing that he couldn't understand on it, there were various pens and stationery strewn about as well. 

The funny thing was Derek didn't see a single thing in the entire office that what to do with animals or veterinary business at all. 

He wondered how Deaton had managed to run such a successful business when he seemingly wasn't very dedicated to his patients. He supposed that there weren't many competing vets in the area and the residents of Beacon Hills just had to make do. Derek couldn't help but laugh at himself slightly, he couldn't believe it had come to this. Sitting in a vet’s office in a room that looked like it came from a child's imagination of what a wizard’s laboratory might look like, waiting to talk to a druid about a ghost that was bothering him. Even for a werewolf that seemed to be a bit much, and the Banshee guarding the door made it all the more ridiculous.

"Derek, you're certainly the last person I expected to walk into my office. I'm glad to see you're back in town. My condolences for your sister." 

Derek was beginning to question his hearing, first, the strange figure had managed to sneak up on him three times, and now Deaton managed to creep up on him. 

"Do not worry" Deaton reassured after Derek spun around shocked. "I have many wards in my office that keep individuals like yourself from hearing my approach, I find it levels the playing field." 

This did little to reassure Derek as he disliked having his senses be unreliable, but he needed Deaton so he tried his best not to dwell on it. 

What he did dwell on was Deaton’s reference to his sister. 

"How did you know about Laura?" 

"I've made it my business to keep up with what she and yourself were up to even after you fled. I have some connections in New York that updated me on your situation. They informed me of her passing. Once again I'm sorry." 

The man seemed genuinely sorry, but Derek couldn't be sure it was not a trick the man was playing. 

"But.” Deaton started again, “we are not here to dwell on those who have left us, what can I do for you today?" He said as he sat down behind the large desk gesturing towards the chair in front of it for Derek to sit on. 

He remained standing. 

"You helped my mother when she needed information about certain creatures she did not know about," Derek stated. 

" I did. And now you seek me for the same reason. Tell me what you have been troubled with." 

Derek was still slightly unsure, but if his mother trusted this man, he was sure he could at least rely on him for sound information. 

He launched into the full tale. From the tapping, to the chase, to the previous night's visit. He left out no detail from the smell, to the mysterious amber eyes, to the constellation skin. 

Deaton looked fascinated throughout the entire story. Enraptured at Derek's hardship. As Derek spoke Deaton began flipping through one of his larger tomes, seemingly searching for something specific. 

"Well?" Derek asked after completing his story, "clearly that's something that you're thinking of? You know what this thing is?" 

"I believe I do," Deaton replied, marveling at the page he had found. 

"They are very few people who have experience with this particular creature, and they seldom speak of how they managed to summon one. This is truly spectacular Derek. You should be very proud of yourself, summoning such a being of this nature, and one so large at that, would have taken immense power." 

"Summon?" Derek questioned, affronted at the implication. " I haven't summoned anything, do you know what this thing is or not? Tell me." 

Deaton put the book aside and looked Derek deep in the eyes. 

"Have you ever heard of a tulpa?"


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry I'm so late updating! Please consider leaving a comment.

Derek wracked his brain for something about tulpas but he came up empty. He didn’t want to sound ignorant in front of the mystical vet, but he had to admit he knew nothing. 

“A tulpa is a very powerful creature, not of this world. Very little is known of them. We can only guess at much of their machinations through what little has been observed of them on our plane of existence.” 

“Not of this world? So what, it's some kind of… alien?” Derek questioned, trying to make sense of what he was just told. 

“No no, not at all. An alien would be a creature of this universe. A tulpa is a creature from another realm or plane, depending on what you believe.”

“What's the difference between a plane and a realm?” 

“Semantics mostly, some who are more scientific in their beliefs think that tulpas are creatures from the astral plane and that we are all connected to the astral plane through our collective unconscious, whereas others who are more connected to the supernatural and their history believe that tulpas are creatures of the fae realm,” Deaton explained matter of factly.

Derek was still trying to wrap his head around what Deaton was saying but continued to press on despite his confusion. “So what do you believe?”

If it were not for his supernatural senses, Derek would have likely missed the pleased look that briefly sat upon Deaton's brow. “Well, I personally don’t see why both theories couldn’t be correct. After all, there is still so much we don’t know about the science behind creatures like fae and tulpas, surely the planes of existence that physicists believe to exist and the realms of the fae could be one and the same.”

While Derek was slightly interested in the implications of Deaton’s theory, he realized they had gotten slightly off-topic.

“Regardless of where it comes from, what does it want and how do I get rid of it?” 

Deaton gave him a questioning look.

“Well unfortunately these are questions you will have to ask yourself.”

Derek tried to resist becoming visibly frustrated. 

“What do you mean by that?” Derek asked with a huff. 

“Well you see, as I said when you first came in,” Deaton began as he grabbed another book off the shelf and started thumbing through the pages. “A tulpa can only come into our world when it is summoned. You summoned it.”

“And like I told you, I didn’t summon anything!”

“Settle down Mr. Hale, I am not accusing you of doing this purposefully. Most people who summon tulpas do so accidentally as I assume you did as well. You see we all have the ability to reach out with our minds and poke holes in our reality, however, you, as a supernatural creature, are able to do so with much more power, hence why your tulpa has manifested as a full-grown person rather than just a rodent or other smaller animal as they often do.”

“Okay, so I summoned this fae, or astral… thing. How do I get rid of it.”

“Ah well there's the rub,” Deaton replied, finally getting to the page he was looking for.

Derek sighed, “I’m assuming there's more to it than just asking it politely to go away?”

“Much more. You see a tulpa was unconsciously summoned by you for a purpose and your tulpa was sent to you because it is the perfect creature to fulfill that purpose. It won’t leave until it's satisfied that its purpose has been fulfilled.” 

“Well, how the hell am I supposed to know what its purpose is if I don’t even know why I summoned it in the first place?” 

“That Derek, I believe I can answer for you,” Deaton replied as he turned the book around and pointed Derek to a specific passage. 

_A tulpa is an exceedingly rare phenomenon, mostly found to have been unconsciously formed by lonely and depressed children, abuse victims, and others who live in complete isolation. It is believed that these individuals reach out with their minds in and create rifts between our world and theirs, which gains the tulpa's attention. Depending on the level of distress and/or mental fortitude of the summoner, a tulpa will then either manifest as a poltergeist or a small creature and engage the subject as an attempt to ease their loneliness and pain. They often appear in a form that the summoner would find most comforting. All of these factors make the tulpa an especially difficult creature to get rid of._

Reading the passage caused an ache deep in Derek’s chest. He had done everything he could to choke down the lonely, empty feeling that had taken over him since Laura’s death, and he thought he was succeeding, but as it turns out he was just driving those feelings deeper until he subconsciously couldn’t take it anymore. 

He wanted to argue that he didn’t fit the description of what he had just read if only to save his pride, but Deaton put his hand up to silence any argument. 

“No need to get defensive, we all deal with loss and pain differently but whether you are ready to admit it or not, you wanted this tulpa. If you want to get rid of it, you will have to deal with the feelings that attracted it in the first place, however…”

“However?”

“Tulpas aren’t dangerous, though they are known to be slightly mischievous, as you have already experienced. You might not like it, but it's here to help you, why not let it?”

“I don’t need help,” Derek argued.

“Apparently it has decided that you do. Denying it its purpose is bound to only cause it to escalate its attempts to get your attention.”

Derek sighed, he didn’t need help, let alone help from a fairy… boy… thing. 

“So that's all you can give me? Let it help me or find some other way to fulfill its purpose so it thinks I don’t need it anymore?”

“I’m afraid that's the best I can do. There is no magic potion I can give you or magic spell to make it go away.” 

Derek wasn’t necessarily satisfied with that answer, but he knew he was not likely to find any further information from Deaton. He shook the man's hand and offered to pay him for his time.

“No need, a Hale’s money is no good here.”

He was about to leave when a sudden realization hit him, and he turned back to the vet. 

“The text said that the tulpa will appear in whatever form is the most comforting to the summoner, but I didn’t recognize the boy when he appeared to me when he woke me up.”

“A tulpa is still a creature with agency. It won’t appear to you as a person that you know, it’s not a mimic. Instead, it will create a form that both it finds comfortable and you find pleasing. For instance, a young lonely girl might desire a pet, and the tulpa will take the form of a rabbit because that's what it finds most comfortable. Perhaps an adult man who is living alone in the woods desires a boy with a mischievous grin and bright eyes, and so the tulpa will manifest those characteristics and fill in the rest with a form that it’s comfortable with. If I had to guess I would say that you both find the form your tulpa has taken pleasing, though likely for different reasons.” 

Derek blushed slightly at that, remembering the honey-coloured eyes and cheeky grin the creature gave him. He decided to leave quickly, lest he reveal more to the vet about himself than he wants to. 

He shook off any lingering embarrassment at the implication of Deaton's words.and made his way outside. He was contemplating where to go to get more research on tulpas when a small hand tapped him on the shoulder. He was almost expecting to see the boy again when he spun around, so he was surprised to see the red-headed, banshee, receptionist standing there. 

“Um.. did I forget something?” Derek asked, wondering at her purpose for following him. 

“No offense, but you don’t exactly look like the kind of person that's going to take the doctor's advice to heart,” she said with a subtle eye roll.

“You were listening to our conversation?”

“While I’m sure whatever growling you’re planning to do at this thing to get rid of it will be very amusing, why don’t you let me help you out. I think I have a pretty good idea on how to get it to leave you alone,” she said, completely ignoring his previous question. 

While he wanted to be agitated at her for her tone, he had to admit he was intrigued.

“What sort of thing do you have in mind?”

She smirked at his compliance, reminding Derek of the power and danger surrounding her. He decided to hear her out at least, but he wouldn’t let his guard down. 

“I’ve seen you in town once or twice, you keep to yourself and make a point to talk to as few people as possible, no wonder a tulpa thinks you need help.”

“I thought you were going to help not criticize my social life.”

“A social life is exactly what I’m suggesting. Show the tulpa that you don’t need it and it will leave you alone.”

“Gee, go make some friends, why didn’t I think of that.” Derek snarked.

“I’m not finished.” She snarked back holding up one perfectly manicured nail to stop him from even thinking about interrupting her again. “I have a few friends in town that are… like us. We go out a few times a month and do a little mythological bonding, we’re getting together this Friday and going to a club nearby. You should come.”

“This isn’t some kind of come on, is it?”

“Oh please, you’re not my type. I don’t like my men furry.” She retorted. “Listen, you can come or not, to be honest, it doesn’t affect me one way or another, but it might get your new friend to leave you alone and it would probably do you some good.”

While she was probably correct, Derek loathed the idea of going out and socializing with people he had never met before, let alone going out to a noisy club. His discomfort must have shown on his face because the girl's posturing eased slightly and she produced a small piece of paper from her pocket.

“Look, think about it and let me know. Here's my number. Text me if you decide to come and I’ll let you know the details.”

And with that, she spun on her heels and sashayed back to the vet's office. 

Derek stood there for a moment staring at the piece of paper in his hands, wondering what the hell just happened. He went from content in isolation in the woods that morning, to being invited out to a club only a few hours later. 

He got into his car and decided to program the number into his phone just in case. Despite the name Lydia being written out in perfect cursive on the note, Derek programmed her name as vet banshee just to ensure he didn't forget why she was in there. Not that he had any other number programmed into his phone besides Boyd’s.

The drive back to the preserve felt twice as long with all the new information he had bouncing around in his head. He wanted to get rid of the creature, but the idea of going out and trying to make friends terrified him more than the tulpa did. 

He tried to get more done around the house, but he moved slower, seemingly weighed down by thought. He had talked himself in and out of going multiple times throughout the afternoon. 

It was the fear of going to sleep that finally made Derek's decision. He was both mentally and physically exhausted by the end of the day, but the memory of his rude awakening made him put off sleep. If the creature was making it impossible for him to rest, he begrudgingly admitted to himself that he needed to at least try Lydia’s way, if only to give him a moment's peace. 

Derek faded off to sleep that night annoyed at his own logic. What the hell was he going to wear?


End file.
